Southern Sudan Faces Severe Food Shortages

MALOUALKON, SOUTHERN SUDAN-Food stocks
are running out in areas of Southern Sudan that experienced unusually poor
harvests this year, Action Against Hunger | ACF International announced
today. To fill immediate needs, vulnerable populations are resorting to
coping strategies that could jeopardize next year's harvest and put their
long-term food security and livelihoods at risk. In Southern Sudan for
over two decades, the international organization is calling for a robust
package of emergency and longer-term assistance to avert a humanitarian
crisis.

In Warrap and Northern Bar El Gazhal
(NBEG) states, food reserves from the November harvest will be consumed
by the end of this month, or in some cases, are already depleted, according
to Action Against Hunger's assessments. As a result, this year's "hunger
gap"-the period of routine scarcity between harvests-will last on
average seven months, twice the typical length of time for this region.
To fill the gap, cash-strapped families are consuming grains normally set
aside as seed reserves for the next planting season, and will likely sell
their few productive assets to buy food at the local markets, leaving them
without the means for future agricultural production.

"People are already skipping meals,
and we have every reason to believe that the poorest families will resort
to desperate measures like selling their land or migrating out of the area
in search of food," said Silke Pietzsch, Action Against Hunger's Senior
Food Security & Livelihoods Advisor for the region. "If no outside
assistance is provided, this downward spiral could have a devastating,
long-term impact on families already affected by decades of conflict."

Last spring, an extended dry spell delayed
the planting season by several weeks, which severely hampered crop production.
According to the Action Against Hunger assessment, the harvests in Warrap
state on average produced enough food for only four months of the year;
in NBEG, the average harvest provided families with food for fewer than
two months. High food prices and insufficient household income are also
contributing factors to growing food insecurity.

In response, Action Against Hunger has
scaled up its nutrition, food security, and livelihoods programs in the
region; however, the population's needs far outstrip the resources available.
Action Against Hunger is calling for urgent funding for the following measures
to facilitate short- and longer-term food access and availability:

* Immediate food assistance for affected
households;

* Large-scale seed and tool distributions
to support the 2010 agricultural season;

* Surveillance and early warning systems
to detect and predict levels of food insecurity and malnutrition;

* Cash transfer programs and support
for small businesses and diversified livelihoods; and

* Investments in social and hunger safety
net programs to prevent future spikes in food insecurity and malnutrition.

Action Against Hunger has worked in Sudan
since 1985, implementing programs in nutrition, food security, livelihoods,
water, and sanitation.